Instructors

Mrs. B. Allessi

Bonnie Allessi is a 2007 Western Pennsylvania Writing Project Fellow who teaches first grade in the Pine Richland School District. She has been teaching K up to 6th longer then she would like to admit! She loves spending time with her family, reading, hiking and geocaching. Her twins (a boy and a girl) are entering 9thgrade this year. She has recently discovered that she actually likes spending time in the gym exercising. She just got into kayaking a few years ago and spends a lot of her summer out on the water! She is happy to be back to help coordinate YWI and she is excited to get to work with older students again. It is a wonderful experience to be able to hear and mentor their writing voices.

Mrs. K. Giegel

Kathy Giegel is a 2006 Fellow of the Western PA Writing Project. This is her fifth year to co-coordinate the Young Writer’s Institute at PR. She is thrilled to help build the community of writers that YWI creates, where students can challenge themselves and think of themselves at writers. Kathy is passionate about biking, hiking, reading, playing with her grandchildren and especially writing alongside Fellows and students!

Mrs. J. Firmin

Joanna Firmin is a 2007 fellow of the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project. She is a First Grade teacher in Pine-Richland School District and currently serves on the Pine-Richland School District Leadership Committee as Grade-Level Co-Chair. She enjoys writing with her students, exploring their interests andcreativity as well as all things outside, from gardening to hiking, kayaking tomountain biking. Her favorite times are spent experiencing and creating artwork in all forms and getting outside with her family, all over the United States and in Europe.

Mrs. D. Newcomer

Deb Newcomer is a 2007 Western Pennsylvania Writing Project Fellow. Her teaching experience includes classroom teaching, gifted programming, and advanced language arts in grades one through six. Her work involved integrating reading and writing with the arts and the environment. She enjoys kayaking, biking, hiking and spending time with her family. Deb is thrilled to be back teaching at the YWI in Pine-Richland.

Mrs. J. Mazzocco

Jennifer Mazzocco teaches 9th and 10th grade English at Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh Public Schools. She completed both her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Nonfiction Writing and her Master of Arts in Teaching at the University of Pittsburgh. When she isn't teaching, Jen volunteers with the Political Action Committee in her union, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. Jen enjoys writing and traveling in her free time. ​

Mrs. M. E. Shenefiel

M. E. Shenefiel is a lifelong learner, dog lover, and tech "geek." She has an unnatural fascination with information but is skeptical of everything she reads. Her winding career path began in elementary music and meandered through elementary fine arts, but she has now found a cozy home in the enchanting world of school libraries. She is the library media specialist and a building technology coach at Eden Hall Upper Elementary School in the Pine-Richland School District.

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